What would happen if, as the worst predictions suggest, there were no bees in London? How would flowers be pollinated?

Above: detail of garden pollination devices

Here a headquarters in Kew Gardens releases millions of delicate floating inseminators, like artificial spores, across the city. Locally, in places like Victoria Park in Hackney, small repair and collection points work constantly to recycle the proxy bees: architecture to pollinate a wilting city.

Above: detail of garden pollination devices

Without the common honeybee, London's gardens would be unrecognisable. We would miss their familiar buzz on a summers day, we would miss their delicious honey. Less obviously, we would miss their pollination, which allows plants to reproduce and flower in such vivid colours.

Above: prototypes of artificial pollinators

The honeybee's form is no accident. She is a conspiracy of the pollen bearing plant world, her architecture so specific to the task.

Above: prototype of artificial pollinators

In response to the honeybee's extinction, man must conceive a way to pollinate London's parks and gardens, learning from her specficity through biomimicry.

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Firstly the 'Garden Pollination Device' fertilises London's back gardens, shimmering like a garden chandelier as the light passes through the statically-charged perspex and acetate covered in pollen. It is designed as a flat pack product available off-the-shelf which the garden enthusiast can assemble themselves. It is suspended from the four corners of the typical London terrace back garden with tension wires, with the device hung in the middle, and predominantly relies on passive wind movement, and the vertical movement of the counter-weighted acetate tentacles, to accidentally brush past the anthers of one garden flower onto anothers stigma.

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Following this, a London-Wide Pollination Strategy is conceived, with delicate latex pollination devices projected into the London skies from a headquarters in Kew Gardens, and carried by the prevailing wind to the required destination.

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Once the pollination is complete, the proxy bees are recycled at local 'Satellite Pollinator Release Facilities' which strategically proliferate London.

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These 'Release Facilities' act both as workshops to recycle and reproduce the latex pollinators, and as a wind harvester, increasing the flow of air through the main funnel. This is achieved via side injection wind inlets and garden wind cowls, in order to project the proxy bees into the skies.

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Intentionally prosaic in external appearance, the facility in Victoria Park seamlessly merges into the urban fabric, its simple copper mesh cladding enveloping the workshop. Internally, the facility reveals a magical full height workshop with the spectacle of the 'release' seducing the visitor.

I think you are missing the point here, there is no suggestion of not saving the bees with this work. Student they’re meant to come up with interesting and individual concepts when studying! I say he’s done a fantastic job!

even the structural diagrams and layout seem to resemble Beesley's work.

Architecture Student

Excellent graphics. However, Bees cannot be replaced by anything man-made.

http://www.dailygrail.com Red Pill Junkie

Agreed with Georgi. There's a reason why several species of trees have created a symbiosis with pollinating insects, instead of relying solely on wind and chance.

But I do like the idea that young professionals are willing to apply their talent in trying to solve our most pressing problems.

http://www.netdohoa.com netdohoa

Nice drawings! "The bees made ​​secret love flowers" it is our proverb.

xtiaan

if bees do dissappear we will all be dead before any solution is worked out

"Here a headquarters in Kew Gardens releases millions of delicate floating inseminators" is kind of ironic as the photos show them to be inflated condoms. Nice work though.

beesrule

"bees can not be replaced" its a concept people not a fact.

xtiaan

ok so facts are observable, whilst concepts are not, what are you saying?
are you pro or anti bee? or merely commenting on the usage of language?

Mardy Murphy

It seems like the RIBA and Westminster have a lot to answer for, any chance for some real research. Rather than littering the city with even more discarded rubber latex.

christina

This seems a bit over the top. If you had read the article properly you would have realised that the facility includes a recycling program to alleviate this problem. Furthermore, it is a fact that raw latex disintegrates at the same rate as an oak leaf.

Flic

V impressive graphics, renders and images. The idea is a bit more suspect though. Why on earth are tutors encouraging this sort of cyclical project, where there is an asumption architects operate above the laws of science. Clearlly a talented guy though.